As with the original ARM-based Bubba Server, which shipped in January 2007 and subsequently garnered at least one glowing review, the Bubba Two is a highly customizable, general-purpose server appliance. With its file, web, print, email, Fetchmail, UPnP, and ITunes servers, the Bubba Two can handle everything from print serving to network-attached storage (NAS) to serving up music. By moving to dual gigabit Ethernet ports and adding a router, firewall, and DNS and DHCP servers, it is also more capable as a network and Web server. As with the Bubba Server, the Bubba Two includes a downloader for torrents, HTTP, and FTP.

Bubba Two (back)(Click to enlarge)

Excito has upgraded the Bubba from a 200MHz ARM-based processor to a 333MHz PowerPC-based chip: the Freescale MPC8313E PowerQUICC II. It has also doubled system memory to 256MB, says Sweden-based Excito. Internal storage options, which previously topped out at 500GB, are now offered in 80GB, 500GB, and 1TB. Storage can be expanded via dual eSATA ports, and there are now two USB ports instead of one, and they now operate at 480Mbps.

Measuring 4.5 x 1.8 x 7.0 inches, the passively cooled, fanless device draws at most 7-12 Watts, compared to the previous 9-13 Watts. The system's noise output appears to be even lower than the Bubba Server's 27dB rating. “Depending on chosen disk, it will be even lower,” wrote Excito's Johannes Book, in an email. “Measurements aren't final yet, but we'll probably be able to sustain about 23-25dB noise level with the 1TB disk.”

Planned features include a WiFi access point, which will be available in an upgrade kit, says Excito, as well as a firmware upgrade for the Squeezebox Slimserver streaming technology. A RAID storage option is also in the works. The box has moved from a Debian Sarge implementation to a Linux 2.6-based Debian Etch.